What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
1 Answer
The Battle of the Bulge was the last offensive of the German army on the western front during WWII.
Explanation:
Under pressure from the East and from the West, Germany had very few options left but needed, at least on the west, to regain the initiative and try to force the Americans back from the border of the Reich.
During winter of 1944 a plan was devised to cut through the US army in the same place where in 1940 the Germans had invaded and demolished the French army, the Ardennes and its heavily forested and hilly ground.
The plan called for a desperate thrust from different panzer armies (mechanized formation with tanks, self-propelled guns and armored troop carriers) to cut through the American forces (resting for the winter) reaching the sea at Antwerp and not only divide the US forces but also deny the use of the important port.
Many SS formations were involved together with special "infiltration commandos" dressed as American and speaking fluent "English" (unfortunately for many of them not American English) to create confusion and havoc behind the American lines.
The plan was based upon speed mainly to take advantage of the bad weather that didn't allow the aircrafts to fly and attack tank formations (the German Luftwaffe had practically disappeared from the battlefield). Two main problems arose quite soon:
1) Lack of fuel for the tanks; many German formation carried rubber tubes to syphon fuel from captured or abandoned American vehicles;
2) The stubborn resistance of isolated and surrounded American units that delayed the advancing German formations until the weather changed allowing the air force to intervene. Notable was the resistance of the soldiers of the 101st Airborne in Bastogne that even in terrible conditions (widespread frostbite, lack of food, ammunitions and medical supplies) fought against overwhelming German mechanized troops surrounding them.
At the end the momentum of the German attack vanished and, under heavy attack from the air, they were forced to retreat losing their best armored formations. This battle was the swan song of the German Panzer Army in the west!
